Air jets looms are widely used for high speed fabric weaving. Typically, a plurality of warp yarns are wound around a loom beam positioned at one end of the air jet loom. The warp yarns are unwound from the loom beam and extend the length of the loom. A whip roll is positioned to support the sheet of warp yarns as it advances to the weaving position of the loom and ensure that the yarn is delivered to the loom at the same weaving angle as the loom beam diameter changes during weaving. The whip roll also maintains the proper tension in the warp yarn during the weaving operation. One or more weft yarn feed systems deliver, i.e. insert, weft yarn into a shed formed by warp yarns using a main air jet nozzle assisted by groups of relay nozzles disposed across the warp shed, as is well known to those skilled in the art.
Depending in the nature of the warp yarn, problems can occur as the yarn is delivered from the loom beam to the loom. For example, the warp yarn can to move and roll laterally along the whip roll. This, in turn, can result in adjacent warp yarn strands becoming entangled and twisted together as they advance into the loom. If the yarns break as they enter the loom, the weaving operation will stop. To address this problem, grooved whip rolls have been used to stabilize the warp sheet. It has been observed that this rolling and entanglement problem is of particular concern where the weaving operation uses warp yarn having a resin compatible coating. These coatings are typically tacky, which adds to the potential for the yarns to stick together and break as they enter the loom. It has been further observed that fine yarns, e.g. E-225 and D-450 yarns, with resin compatible coatings that are used as warp yarn in a weaving operation exhibit a greater potential to become entangled because of the higher warp yarn density associated with such fabrics.
It would be advantageous to provide a weaving system that ensures continuous, uninterrupted feed of the warp yarn having a resin compatible coating.